46 ISLES OF SUMMER. 
In quite a number of instances the ceilings of the rocky cham- 
bers had partially fallen in, and, through the openings, the roots 
of wild fig trees had made their way, dropped from ten to twenty 
feet to the bottom, where, entwined among and running over the 
rocks, they seemed in the dim light like huge anacondas, whose 
repose it might be dangerous to disturb. 
Catesby, a century ago, in writing in regard to the natural 
history of the Bahamas, observed, that ‘‘ many of these islands, 
particularly Providence, abound with deep caverns containing 
salt water at their bottoms. These pits, being perpendicular 
from their surface, are frequently so choked up and obscured by 
the falling of trees and rubbish, that great caution is required 
to prevent falling into these ‘unfathomable pits’ as the inhabit- 
ants call them, and it is thought that many men who never 
returned from hunting have perished in them.” 
We called the attention of an intelligent native and old resi- 
dent of Nassau to this passage and he assented to its truth. To 
this day, the island, though so small, is largely an unknown 
country to its people. This seems incredible, but it is none the 
less true. Stimulated by a crisp and frosty air, northern people 
fit out exploring expeditions to the North Pole and the interior 
of Africa; but the citizens of Nassau care not to explore the 
dense jungles that exist a short distance from their doors. 
An article appeared in the Nassau Grazette a year or two since 
in which a correspondent describes a natural reservoir of fresh 
water called ‘“‘The Mermaid’s Pool,” or “The Black Water 
Pool,” which seems to resemble the deep caverns or pits to which 
Catesby refers, except that it is filled with fresh water. This 
writer states that it is located in the south part of the island of 
New Providence, about a mile from the shore, near an extensive 
cocoanut plantation, then belonging to the Hon. J. 8. George, 
a gentleman who is since, we believe, deceased. ‘‘It isin arocky, 
